Ranger690

LeeinVA, Let us know which Rino you have. If the 120, do you have any mapping software? I want one also and have been looking for someones opinion on them. I would like to hear good and bad.

Hope you are liking it.

thanks,
Dayton

LeeinVa1

to ranger690 and cargoF16; i have the rino 110 and i worked the heck out of it the last week, if this is your first gps i would not recommend it. it takes a lot of reading and practice to get it setup and use. the radio feature worked just great and the sending of your postion to another person worked great also, just have to train each other on how to save it and get the the menu in order to use it. If you are using it with a map, your postion is hard to read (i just sent an email to garmin on this problem) also, the compass does not lock in until you move but i found it accutate to within 25 feet. there are lots of hidden things on the rino, backlight is hidden in the button that turns it on, have to push it then use the scroll button to turn it on, scoll button is a little too sensitive to me. i am not sure who they designed this unit for seeing it comes with games, calculator, calendar, area calculation, stop watch, alarm clock, sun & moon calculation and hunt and fish calculation, also sent another email to garmin to see if they can come up with a download that will allow me to eliminate some of this junk. i have been using garmin products for years, and even with my experience i found it hard to set up the rino. i would recommend the summit because of the auto compass feature. i am also looking at the model 72, which seems to be designed for the sportman in mind, but i am not sure if the compass is auto on this unit. i have a map program from maptech, you can order cd's for your state and it is easy to install and use. i would recommend that your set the program up for UTM usage and set your gps up the same way, you will find with this setup that you can locate your postion on a map with little or no effort. if you need more help on how to do this, just give me a shout at my email address; [email protected] ok, guys, that is just my comments and thanks for asking.

littleal

I don't own a GPS so I was wondering what WAAS stands for?
AL

LeeinVa1

Littleal (fawn), in reply to your question on WAAS, i could say it stands for Wander Around And Stare, but it really stands for Wide Area Augmentation System, when enabled on the gps, it produces a more accurate fix on your position. Normally Waas satelites are numbered from 33 and above and will show on the satellite page if receiving a signal, hope this helps, WAAS seems to be accurate with three meters.

The ORB

I think the best deal I have seen lately is the Magellan Sportrak Pro. This is currently only $180 from Costco (including a $100 rebate). I just bought one as I was sick of the problems my Etrex Vista gave me under tree cover. My Vista is for sale if anyone is interested, great unit if you dont hunt in the real thick woods, make me an offer.
Anyway the Sportrak pro came with PC data cable, 12v adapter cable, carry case and belt clip, a US streets and destinations CD, and a full car mounting kit. Great value.
The unit is great, waterproof, WAAS, full mapping capability and 23M of memory, and the real bonus is it comes with a decent quad helix antenna included so that it does a better job locking on and holding a signal under tree cover. Its a great deal and hal the cost of the Vista.

CalHunter

Lee, are those Rino GPS radios transmitting on .5 watts or 2 watts of power for the GMRS channels? How long are your batteries lastin? And how well do they work under heavy tree cover? Thanks.

The ORB, I have a basic Etrex ($99 Wallyworld special) and it has some problems getting readings under tree cover. I' ve heard the more pricey Garmin units do much better. How well is that Magellan you picked up doing under heavy tree cover? Be interested to see the quality comparison. Thanks.

LeeinVa1

the unit transmitts using 0.5 watts on the FRS channels and 1.0 watts on the GMRS channels, battery life seems to be about 20 hours. also, the GMRS channels are not available in units within Canada, and to use the GMRS channels requires a lic and a fee from the FCC. i try not to use the GMRS channels because you CANNOT transmit your postion to another unit while on those channels. hope this helps. I am not sure what you consider heavy cover, but the unit seems to work fine for me in the woods.

jetblast

If you can find a deal on an Etrex Vista, go for it. It has alot of memory. The topos aren' t map quality, but give good references. It' s fairly easy to use too.

Tail Feathers

BassPro has the Magellan 315 on sale for $99 right now. Mine works great, accuracy within a few feet and holds hundreds of waypoints, maps, downloadable, etc. Everything you could need and it receives signals very well. I like mine a lot.

LeeinVa1

just happened to find this site on the rino, thought you might be interested in reading about it: http://www.gpsinformation.net/rino/rinorev.htm